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ASI Blog2012-12-17T18:32:50-08:00urn:syndication:17e58a85f7d62c577530efe0bbf09e1bfatsyndicationNew ASI study finds California almonds have small carbon footprint compared to other protien foodsurn:syndication:9c361c308daf7934950d32acbc42fda5Originally appeared on the UC ANR Green Blog.

California produces more than 80 percent of the world's commercial
almonds. Popularity of the nuts has spurred almond acreage in the state
to expand from 510,000 acres in 2000 to roughly 890,000 acres in 2015,
according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.
California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which requires
statewide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the growing
interest among consumers and food companies in the carbon footprint of
food products, prompted some University of California scientists to
examine how almond production affects the environment.

Research by UC Davis and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
scientists found that almonds have a relatively small carbon footprint,
which could be further reduced with advanced management practices.

Two related articles published in the current issue of Journal of Industrial Ecology examine the environmental impact of this agricultural industry. Co-author Alissa Kendall,
an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, and her colleagues noted that certain
practices substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use,
including the strategic use of co-products, and the choice of water
source and irrigation technology.

"Our research shows that 1 kilogram of California almonds typically
produces less than 1 kilogram of CO2 emissions, which is a lower carbon
footprint than many other nutrient- and energy-dense foods," said
Kendall.

“These results include the use of almond co-products — orchard
biomass, hulls and shells — for renewable power generation and dairy
feed,” said Kendall. “Under ideal circumstances, which are feasible but
not in place today, California almonds could become carbon-neutral or
even carbon-negative, largely through the improved utilization of
orchard biomass."

“As California farmers improve their nitrogen and water use
efficiencies, they will reduce the carbon footprint,” Doll said. “This
will happen as we continue to transition into a nitrogen budgeting
system, which will reduce over-applications of nitrogen. Furthermore, on
the other end, research conducted by Cooperative Extension has shown
that the entire biomass of an orchard can be incorporated back into the
soil, which increases the amount of total carbon sequestered.”

“Only a full life cycle-based model like the one we developed for
this research will allow us to accurately assess whether incorporating
the biomass into the soil or using it for power generation instead
results in a lower net carbon footprint,” said Sonja Brodt,
academic coordinator in the UC ANR Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education Program, noting that there will be some trade-off.

This research was supported by grants from the Almond Board of California and the CDFA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Brodt and Marvinney will host a webinar to discuss their life cycle
assessment analyzing the environmental impacts associated with walnuts,
prunes, peaches, almonds and pistachios. The researchers are quantifying
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in orchard crop production both
within and beyond the farm. To join the webinar, visit https://uc-d.adobeconnect.com/orchard-lca at noon on Wednesday, July 29.

Isao Fujimoto, lecturer emeritus of Community Development and Asian Studies at UC Davis, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award for his commitment to California agriculture, rural communities, and social change.

The prestigious award, given each year by the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, will be presented at a ceremony at UC Davis on April 23. The keynote speaker will be Navina Khanna, a UC Davis alumna and leader for food justice in California.

The Bradford–Rominger award honors individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late G. Eric Bradford, a livestock genetics professor who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.

Former students describe Fujimoto as a prophet and “energizer bunny of social change.”

“Isao began advocating for more socially just and environmentally sustainable forms of agriculture over 40 years ago,” said Mark Van Horn, director of the Student Farm at UC Davis. “At the time, it made him quite unpopular in some quarters, but he remained true to what he knew was right.”

In his early days at UC Davis, Fujimoto used the campus’s signature red, double-decker buses to transport children of farm workers to school when public bus service was cancelled. The incident sparked conversation about the need for the university to focus on California’s rural communities, and led to creation of the Community and Regional Development Graduate Program at UC Davis in the mid-1970s.

Fujimoto was also instrumental in starting the Asian American Studies program on campus, and was mentor to many students who have become sustainable agriculture leaders in their own right. Throughout the 1970s, Fujimoto’s home served as a local hub for community activism, with projects such as the Davis Food Co-op and the Davis Farmers Market starting out at his kitchen table.

“He has helped countless students understand the world around them and clarify their personal values and principles,” Van Horn said. “Most importantly, his actions have provided lessons and inspiration for those wanting to act upon their values and principles to bring about positive change in the world.”

Like Eric Bradford, Isao Fujimoto is a respected mentor and a consensus builder. Like Charlie Rominger, Fujimoto has consistently stood up for his beliefs, regardless of their unpopularity, and has done so with a kind heart and humble nature.

“The kind of commitment and sense of responsibility that Eric and Charlie had is a pretty remarkable trait,” Fujimoto said. “I find this award set up by the Bradford and Rominger families as a pretty significant marker of change in terms of broadening the scope of agriculture to include being conscious of the environment and using agriculture as a tool for building community.”

Fujimoto will receive the award at the annual Bradford–Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award Ceremony which begins at 5 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at the Student Community Center at UC Davis. Khanna’s keynote speech will address, “Claim Your Superpower: Meeting the Moment for a Winning Food Movement.” On April 24, Khanna will meet with UC Davis students to further discuss leadership in the food movement.

This event is free and open to the public. Students are encouraged to attend.

The mid-afternoon sun beats down on the dry earth as Elleman Mumba takes us to the cool shade of his musangu trees – tall 8-year-old trees that he has planted in wide rows in the middle of the crop fields where he grows maize and other annual crops for food and sale. Mr. Mumba is one of a growing number of farmers across Zambia and other southern African countries who are bucking conventional wisdom that planting trees in crop fields creates competition with the standing crop for sunlight, water, and nutrients.

While this may be true in some cases, these trees, Faidherbia albida -- known locally as “musangu”—are rather unusual in how they fit into the cropping system. Not only are these native trees leguminous, and thus capture nitrogen gas from the air and make it usable for themselves and surrounding plants, they also lose their leaves and go dormant during the summer rainy season, when most small-scale farmers plant their maize crop. They leaf out during the dry season, just when livestock are most in need of precious fodder and when the fallow fields would otherwise be baking in the sun. Research and farmers’ experience have documented maize yields doubling or tripling underneath the Faidherbia canopy, demonstrating the substantial boost to soil fertility attributable to these trees. This is significant in a country where many farmers cannot afford enough fertilizer and where maize yields average under 1 ton/acre.

I recently took a study tour to Zambia to learn more about these agroforestry systems and to see what insights they might hold for California farms. In my position as Coordinator of the Agriculture, Resources, and the Environment portfolio of research and outreach activities at the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP), I’m always thinking about ways to increase what farmers gain from our natural ecosystems and what these ecosystems can gain from farming.

What can we learn from the Zambian agroforestry system here in California, where farmers can usually afford the fertilizer needed to produce much higher yields, whether they are growing feed corn, vegetables, or perennial fruit crops? These Zambian farmers are successfully designing cropping systems that are more adept than their previous monocrops at harnessing natural processes that directly benefit crop production. They are putting in place a more complex natural economy where biological organisms – trees, bacteria, and crop plants – do the work of exchanging goods and services – in this case nitrogen and organic matter – to the ultimate benefit of the farmer. This system replaces a simpler one that is more reliant on the work of the farmer and the money economy, as well as on fossil fuels and the pollution inherent in their use, to sustain desired production.

All farmers already make use of ecosystem services to some degree or another, whether by relying on soil to hold and release nutrients or on bees to pollinate crops. But the more a cropping system can be designed to capitalize on natural processes and build up its natural economy, the greater the likelihood that we will avoid irreparable damage from pollution as well as risks from disturbances in the money economy.

Such designs are usually not one-size-fits-all – even in Zambia, farmers with sandier soils have more difficulty establishing Faidherbia trees. However, regionally-specific and scale-appropriate systems that accomplish more of the work of farming through natural processes are well worth exploring in all parts of the globe. Identifying such systems and quantifying their benefits is what my colleagues here at UC SAREP have been doing for the past two decades, whether by characterizing the benefits of cover crops or working with growers to design Biologically Integrated Farming Systems. This kind of work also continues at the Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility, which serves as the venue for studies that identify and quantify the factors that contribute to healthy agroecosystem functioning, for the sake of better nutrient retention and cycling, weed management, and other agronomic outcomes. Ultimately, all these programs converge on the common goal of building farming systems that rest on the foundations of natural economies that have the capacity to sustain and regenerate critical farm functions into the foreseeable future, just like the majestic 30-year old musangu tree I had the privilege to behold on a Zambian farm.

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Aubrey White2015-02-13T13:30:17-08:002015-02-13T13:30:17-08:00Viewpoints: Scientists are rising to the challenges of droughturn:syndication:8ae6b29f3bdde404f9208afa5f8960e5Op-ed by Tom Tomich and Marcia DeLonge.

Appeared in the Sacramento Bee August 11, 2014

This week, scientists from around the world are convening in Sacramento for the Ecological Society of America’s annual meeting to discuss cutting-edge research for a sustainable future.

The meeting comes at a pivotal time for California, as the three-year drought drags on. According to the latest Drought Monitor report, more than 58 percent of the state is experiencing “exceptional drought,” the most severe classification, characterized by extreme water shortages and crop loss. This is a big problem for the nation’s top agricultural state, where the value of agricultural products exceeds $40 billion a year. To achieve this remarkable productivity, California agriculture uses well over half of the state’s managed water.

As the drought intensifies, farmers are opting to grow less because water is just too expensive. This is an immediate threat to the livelihoods of farmers, ranchers, farmworkers and others. What does the future hold for California agriculture, especially as climate scientists are predicting that droughts could become more frequent and more intense?

Scientists are rising to the challenge. Many are finding answers in an emerging field – agroecology.

With its roots in crop science, agroecology draws on other disciplines, including ecology and the social sciences, to broaden our understanding of agriculture as part of a larger environmental and societal context. Agroecology considers the needs of today and the future by revealing the connections among soils, plants, livestock, the environment, our economy and our society to cope with challenges such as the current drought. For example, the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program works with California communities to develop in-depth assessments of a region’s food system, including the viability of its farms, their impact on the environment and nutrition and food access issues that affect residents. In this way, whole regions are better equipped to find solutions to their problems.

The Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility at UC Davis is another example of agroecology at work. The ranch tests a wide array of farming methods, examining their impact on yield, soil quality, irrigation requirements, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The facility is 21 years into a pioneering, century-long study of which agricultural practices best respond to pressing challenges. Among the many results so far, experiments have shown that planting cover crops can increase water infiltration into soil, offering one practical step that farmers can employ today to battle drought.

Another local example of agroecology at work is the Marin Carbon Project, which brings together scientists, farmers, ranchers and others to sustainably and profitably manage the region’s grazing lands. This research, led by UC Berkeley scientists, has found that adding compost to grazed grasslands can increase soil’s water retention and production of grasses and other feed sources, while reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

So if agroecology shows such great promise, why does it receive a small fraction of availableresearch funding?

Understandably, the bulk of private investment in agricultural research goes where the returns are: seeds, chemicals and services that fit within established business models – not the innovations in information and agroecological practices that can and should spread freely among farmers and ranchers. And while government research programs and public agricultural research institutions, like the University of California, have historically been responsible for conducting research in the public interest, taxpayer dollars are not keeping pace with the need.

It’s time for a change. More than 250 scientists and other experts recently signed a statement calling for an increase in public investment in agroecology. Farmers would benefit from this joint effort with scientists through greater resilience against droughts, floods and other climate extremes.

Droughts will always pose challenges, but we can make investments today that will help us all weather climate changes and protect our food supply tomorrow and for generations to come.

Tom Tomich is the founding director of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis. Marcia DeLonge is an agroecologist with the Food & Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

We are pleased to announce that Thomas Tomich, director of
the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis, has been
appointed a scientific adviser to the world's preeminent agricultural
research system, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research.

CGIAR is a publicly funded research consortium working in more than
100 developing countries to eliminate hunger and poverty, improve food
and nutritional security, and sustainably manage natural resources.
CGIAR programs around the globe focus on topics as diverse as increasing
profitability for small-scale rice farmers in the Philippines and
global efforts to adapt to climate change.

"With this council appointment, I will stay at the cutting edge of
global science on food systems and sustainable agricultural development,
and bring that back to ASI and my research and teaching at UC Davis,"
said Tomich, a UCD professor and W.K. Kellogg Endowed Chair in
Sustainable Food Systems. "I hope this effort contributes to maintaining
California's leadership in agricultural science and innovation."

Seven scientific advisers compose the Independent Science and
Partnership Council representing disciplines in agriculture,
environmental sciences, ecology, and economics. Council members are from
Australia, Brazil, Japan, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. Tomich is the
only U.S.-based member of the council.

"For half a century, CGIAR has been the single most effective use of
development aid funding," said Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural
Officer at Mars Inc. and Chair of ASI's External Advisory Board. "This
indispensable institution has grown rapidly and is in the midst of
reforming to meet huge 21st century challenges." Shapiro currently
serves on CGIAR's midterm review panel, guiding its reform process.

"The Independent Science and Partnership Council plays a key role in
ensuring scientific quality and integrity for the whole research
system," said Shapiro. "Tom is committed to the highest standards of
science, and has the deep understanding of sustainability required to
make transformative change at a global level. His appointment is a great
opportunity to help shape the future of food on the planet and also to
better link UC Davis to global agricultural research."

Prior to his service at UC Davis, Tomich worked for the World
Agroforestry Center, a CGIAR center, as principal economist and global
coordinator of the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins. He
has worked in a dozen countries, including significant periods based in
Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, and now in his home state of California.

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Aubrey White2014-07-29T16:49:43-07:002014-07-29T16:49:43-07:00Meet the Sustainable Ag and Food Systems Community at UC Davisurn:syndication:ce63ab1c4172588eb8c22d6eaad67ff1
The Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems major at UC Davis is more than an academic program. It is a community of learners and educators trying working together to bring about positive change in world. SA&FS is an interdisciplinary major where students develop a comprehensive understanding of our complex food system. The program is rigorous and offers students real world experiences in agriculture and food systems. But to learn about what is at the heart of the program, you must ask the right questions to the students, faculty, and staff involved in it.

Jadda Miller, a 2014 graduate from Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, did just that and put together a video that embodies what it means to be involved in the major and the community that surrounds it. As we welcome a new crop of students into the major, we can reflect on what makes it as strong a program as it is—its students, faculty, and staff. Take a look!

With a growing interest in gardening, food preservation and livestock, urban agriculture is making its way to the forefront of planning and policy agendas. The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Division (UC ANR) released a portal for Urban Ag enthusiasts and farmers at the beginning of July. The portal features an array of information for beginning and experiences farmers alike. "The site will be a resource for urban farmers who are selling what they grown, as well as school and community gardeners, and folks who are keeping some backyard chickens and bees. We also intend it to be a resource for local policy makers who are making decisions that impact farming in California cities," says Rachel Surls, a UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Los Angeles county and one of the creators of the website. You can visit the website here.

Pest Management

When doing urban agriculture, or any form of agriculture, pests will always be an issue. Pest management can be tricky depending on what type of product you are looking to produce whether it be organic or conventional. However, because urban agriculture often happens in close proximity to people and residences, urban farmers commonly use organic methods or Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to manage pests. The Urban Agriculture website helps growers find resources on pest management, as well as regulations in pesticide use and updates on pest quarantines that growers should stay aware of.

Business Management

Farming is a complex business, and it’s important to plan accordingly for success. Through the website farmers can find important California based programs that provide additional information to urban farmers who are seeking to start or develop a business. Look out for updates on the business management section of this site.

Food Safety, Handling, and Processing

Foodborne illness is a serious concern, and urban farmers should learn about how to make sure that the food they produce is safe for consumers. California food safety regulations make it not just a good practice to understand food safety, but legally required. UC ANR provides links to help urban farmers avoid contamination in the pre and post-harvest phase, how to properly store agricultural products, and process value added products so that quality and safety are maintained.

Edible Landscaping

Agriculture happens all over the city- in vacant urban lots, rooftops, and backyards. Through the Farm and Garden Design tab on the website under Production, people can find a link to Edible Landscaping through UC ANR’s Master Gardening Program. Edible landscaping is an exciting way to have your landscape pull double duty for you. You’ll have healthy food, save on your grocery bill, and support sustainable gardening practices.

Mobilizing the Urban Agriculture Movement

In addition to practical resources for urban agriculture practitioners, it is important to understand the broader impacts and benefits of urban agriculture. In collaborate with UC ANR, UC SAREP conducted a literature review of current research on urban agriculture to help researchers, policy makers, and community organizations understand the social, environmental impacts.

We are pleased to announce today that Mary Bianchi of the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is this year’s recipient of ASI’s Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger Agricultural Sustainability Leadership Award.

The annual award will be presented to Bianchi tomorrow, April 15, at a ceremony featuring distinguished speaker LaDonna Redmond.
The Bradford-Rominger award recognizes and honors individuals who exhibit the leadership, work ethic and integrity epitomized by the late Eric Bradford, a livestock geneticist who gave 50 years of service to UC Davis, and the late Charlie Rominger, a fifth-generation Yolo County farmer and land preservationist.

Bianchi has worked for UC Cooperative Extension for 20 years, currently serving as Farm Advisor and County Director for San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties. Among her achievements include the development and implementation of a water quality workshop series that required collaboration of over 100 team members and brought timely and essential information on water quality management to 2,200 growers in California.

Bianchi is quick to share her success. “I’ve had partners in all the efforts that I’ve undertaken who just wanted to find a way to get information out to people so that they can make their own decision. Sometimes that means staying within the lines, and sometimes that means stretching and taking some risks and being willing to push the envelope. Growers, industry, agencies and universities have stepped up to find a way to make our efforts work.”

Eric Bradford and Charlie Rominger are remembered for their abilities to approach major agricultural challenges with grace, honesty, and a commitment to collaboration across disciplines and interests.

Sonja Brodt, Academic Coordinator at ASI says Bianchi “does not hesitate to address the critical needs of her clientele, even if they require extending herself into new subject areas. She is down-to-earth and creates the space in collaborations for each party’s concerns to be heard and valued in the process to reach viable solutions.”

Bianchi’s own work ethic reflects those qualities. “I think that you do create change one person at a time by listening to what they have to say and respecting the fact that they are bringing their own successes and constraints and baggage that you don’t know about,” says Bianchi.

“Eric and Charlie were a lot the same way,” she continues. “If you see that there’s a need, you just find a way to make it work. And you find the people that are willing to do that with you and it happens.”

After the Bradford-Rominger award is presented to Bianchi at tomorrow’s ceremony, distinguished speaker LaDonna Redmond will speak on “Food + Justice = Democracy.” Redmond is a food justice activist who was inspired to fight for a fairer food system after facing limited access to healthy, organic food in her Chicago community. To facilitate her community’s food access, she launched an initiative converting vacant lots into urban farms.

She is founder of the Campaign for Food Justice Now, an organization focused on social justice within the food system, creating community-based solutions and engaged advocacy.

This event is free and open to the public. Students are encouraged to attend.

For more information, contact Aubrey White at
(530) 752-5299 or abwhite@ucdavis.edu

###

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Aubrey White2014-04-14T11:45:00-07:002014-04-14T11:46:35-07:00Linking Knowledge with Action for Sustainaibility: ASI Distinguished Speaker William C. Clarkurn:syndication:1802001ee07c2bb7f3d543801545f0e1
ASI Distinguished Speaker William C. Clark was quick to admit that a Harvard Professor discussing outreach and research for the public good to a room full of Aggies seemed amiss. But Clark has long studied how academics can be better involved with the public in order to meet their needs, and how that involvement is an essential element to sustainable development. His talk pushes for stronger collaborations amongst academics and with the public, better political engagement, and more risk taking in our research--recognizing that true innovation is always preceded by failed attempts. UC Davis and UC ANR are, in many ways, successful at these attempts. Clark urges us, "just tell the stories louder."

The full talk is available to view here, including a compelling question and answer period at the end.

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Aubrey White2014-01-15T10:30:00-08:002014-01-15T16:05:05-08:00Farm to Forkurn:syndication:65f04f1d833f00856deb06291bc77e3b
ASI is participating in several farm-to-fork and Food Day events this fall, including the Davis Chamber of Commerce Ag Economy luncheon which will feature broccoli seedlings grown by UC Davis Student Farm students.

The broccoli seedlings the Student Farm is sharing with the Davis Chamber of Commerce are one example of the sort of hands-on education students receive at the Student Farm, which is a program of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis

Welcome new and returning students, faculty, staff and friends of the University of California.

Thank you for joining the UC Davis Student Farm, a program of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI) at UC Davis, at Fall Convocation 2013.

This year’s convocation focused on how the UC Davis community is innovating together to advance food and health. ASI – with programs such as the Student Farm, Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility, the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), and more – plays an important role in that innovation as it seeks to ensure access to healthy food and promote the vitality of agriculture today and for future generations.

In addition to doing this through integrative research, communication and early action on big, emerging issues, ASI is focused on sustainable farming education as it supports both the new Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems major and the well-established Student Farm.

The broccoli seedlings the Student Farm shared with Convocation attendees are one example of the sort of hands-on education students receive at the Student Farm.

Caring for your broccoli plant

Wondering how to take care of the broccoli plant you received today? Alice Del Simone is happy to help.

Planting instructions:

Transplant seedling into your indoor, or outdoor, garden in the next couple of weeks

If you’re planting into a pot, use at least a two-gallon container per seedling.

Broccoli prefer at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.

Fill the pot with potting soil mix.

Before transplanting water your seedling.

To plant, gently squeeze the sides of the seedling pot before removing it by holding near the base of the stem

Place it in the hole and firmly pack the soil around the base of the seeding

Water the pot.

Care instructions:

Water regularly, about one inch per week

Add nutrients, such as a fish fertilizer or another nitrogen-rich amendment

As the plant grows, check for pests such as cabbage worms or aphids. Cabbage worms are small green worms that are generally on the undersides of the leaves. Remove any worms immediately.

Harvest the central head as it comes to maturity. After you cut off the first head of broccoli, side heads will continue to grow well into the cooler weather. These can be harvested as they mature.

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ehightow2013-09-23T12:35:00-07:002013-09-25T10:20:24-07:00Food systems literature and research in one, easy-to-navigate locationurn:syndication:a0fde8f540e8a293cd2ca8dc3c0835b5
Community food systems are gaining attention nationwide as an important way to create links between farmers, consumers and communities in particular regions. A recently released bibliography created by researchers with the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis documents the growing interest in community food systems, focusing mostly on analyses of food-related activities and trends within the United States.

The Community Food System Bibliography gathers published literature on local and regional food systems and categorizes the literature by key topics. It can help students and researchers better understand the landscape of the literature, gaps and needs for future research; non-profits can use it to help them identify the potential successes and shortcomings of existing strategies and highlight opportunities for future work.

The institute named Rose Hayden-Smith of the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources this year’s award recipient.

Learn more about the award and this year’s recipient by watching the full event, including this year’s distinguished speaker, Craig McNamara. McNamara is an organic farmer, owner and co-founder of Sierra Orchards, and president of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

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ehightow2013-06-01T19:20:00-07:002013-06-01T19:29:00-07:00Picnic Day -- Saturdayurn:syndication:fbf33a8c94582b8407d896a69feda7f8
The Agricultural Sustainability Institute at UC Davis and its programs are at two locations at this year's Picnic Day at the UC Davis campus Saturday, April 20, 2013.

The institute is sharing organic pepper plants grown by students at the UC Davis Student Farm. Visit the ASI booth at Robbins Hall along California Avenue from 10 a.m. until we run out of plants.

Also, stop by the Memorial Union booth, where we are handing out samples of Russell Ranch Dried Tomato pesto, cream cheese and julienned dried tomatoes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Picnic Day. The booth is directly outside the bookstore in the courtyard next to Freeborn Hall.

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ehightow2013-04-20T07:00:00-07:002013-04-20T09:44:55-07:00New video lecture from Tom Tomich on global agroecologyurn:syndication:6e4a4eccf895c1c1ae6e5515af549a54
In 2012, ASI Director Tom Tomich co-authored an article with ASI Affiliated faculty members and UC Davis faculty about Agroecology from a global perspective in the Annual Reviews and Environment and Resources.

The Annual Reviews has added a video lecture from Tom as a way to share more broadly the messages of this article. In this video lecture, he discusses the agricultural challenges brought on by a world population that could surpass nine billion individuals by 2050, as well as water scarcity, climate change, pests, nitrogen prices, and geopolitical factors. An important question will be how to feed nine billion people and do it in a sustainable way. He stresses the importance of approaching agroecology from an scientific perspective, integrated across disciplines, from economic and social sciences to entomology and genomics.

The entire article can be found here(though access may require a subscription).